I never would’ve expected that getting sick would save my life. But it very possibly did.
Five years ago, during my first semester in a new grad program, I got sick. I couldn’t eat anything without getting horribly sick to my stomach. After frustratingly normal test results and a month of surviving on applesauce (and losing nearly ten pounds), a gastroenterologist finally prescribed an antibiotic as a shot in the dark. Thank God it worked. (more…)
As you can no doubt tell, I’ve been a bit busy lately.
What have I been up to? Well, there’s work — that outside-the-house, 45 hours a week type of job — and then there’s the whole revising a novel thing and preparing for a writer’s conference (ordering new business cards and whatnot). And then there’s our house, what with the painting and cleaning it needs.
Here’s one house thing I’ve been working on: an old desk of mine. Used to be a basic wooden desk. Here’s what it used to look like (not the best angle, but you get the idea):
I got tired of the sad, worn-down desk. I mean, it’s a pretty shade of wood, but not really my style. So I went at it with some spray paint. And more spray paint. And ended up with spray paint all over my arms and legs, because, well, I’m a whole-hearted refinisher. If I’m going to invest my time in something, it’s not gonna be a half-hearted effort.
So after several weekends of being covered in spray paint and getting polyurethane all over my fingers, I ended up with… (more…)